Description:

The Washington Capitols, not to be mistaken for the Washington “Capitals” were a professional basketball team founded in 1946, which played a total of 5 seasons before folding in 1951. The Washington Capitols and 7-UP produced a 12-card set for the 1950-1951 season. The year is easily determined as Frank Kudelka only played for the Capitols during that season. Each black and white card measures 5-1/8" x 4-1/4" and features a player on front holding a 7-Up bottle. The card backs have an illustration of a 7-UP bottle, also in black and white. The set is incredibly rare. The first time I saw this set was in the Hunt Auction over a decade ago. Vintage basketball collectors had occasionally acquired a card or two from this set. To see a set near complete is an absolute rarity. On March 3, 2011, Legendary Auction had an auction for 11 of these cards, which I acquired at that time. In 2014, Huggins and Scott also listed some high grade examples from the set. One of those high grade examples made it into my collection just recently, as I acquired the Ed Bartels card to complete the set. You can look at one of the few complete sets in existence on this website. A claim was made that these cards were “newly discovered”. Perhaps they were to them. However, vintage basketball collectors are well of aware of this fantastic set of advertisement cards. The set features Ed Mikan, the brother of the legendary Hall of Famer George Mikan. Bill Sharman also started his career with the Capitols during the 1950-51 season. With the Capitols going defunct, he would join the Boston Celtics the following year. Players in the set include: 1) Ed Bartels 2) Bill Sharman 3) Fred Scolari 4) Dick Schnittker 5) Allen Sawyer 6) Ed Mikan 7) Bones McKinney 8) Ariel Maughan 9) Frank Kudelka 10) Charles Gilmur 11) Tommy Byrnes 12) Chick Halbert